Wednesday, December 4, 2019

Wednesday of the First Week in Ordinary Time

(Isaiah 25:6-10a; Matthew 15:29-37)

Many of us have fond memories of Sunday dinner with our grandparents.  The family took their places happily around the table.  The food was already there - not gourmet but deliciously prepared.  We said grace dutifully, and those who enjoyed it poured themselves a little wine.  Our hearts long to relive those experiences.  Today’s first reading indicates why.

The passage from Isaiah describes peoples from the disparate corners of the earth eating together.  The rich food makes everyone forget past injuries.   The choice wines relax one’s sensibilities enough to overlook petty differences.  All present are at peace.

Isaiah’s vision gives rise to the hope of Advent.  We look forward to living in harmony with all peoples -- both individuals and nations.  The gospel indicates how this vision will be realized.  Jesus will provide the occasion when he comes at the end of time.  He does not have to bring any food.  Just seeing him in glory will fill us with happiness.  After all, he is the “beatific vision.” 

Tuesday, December 3, 2019

Memorial of Saint Francis Xavier, priest

(Isaiah 11:1-10; Luke 10:21-24)

Of the four great killers of humankind – war, disease, famine, and natural disaster – war is the hardest to bear.  Disease and natural disaster have an inevitable quality.  They may take the greatest number of victims, but there is no one to blame except, for some, God.  Today famine is mostly a by-product of war.  Armies burn up fields to starve their enemy.  Human malice brings about war and intensifies in its duration.  Once engaged in battle soldiers often perpetuate grave crimes for the sake of victory.  For this reason the prophet in today’s first reading envisions the bitterest of enemies reconciled.

The peace does not just happen.  A leader endowed with the divine Spirit comes to rule the world with justice.  He does not take advantage of the poor but gives all people their due.  He makes the arrogant cower while he comforts the weak.  Christians have seen this hope fulfilled in Jesus.  He lifted up the lowly without ignoring the better off.  His compassion acted on behalf of the poor, the sick, and the crazed.  As he tells his disciples in the gospel reading, “’Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.’”

Today the Church celebrates St. Francis Xavier.  As much as anyone, St. Francis worked for reconciliation among peoples.  He traveled to faraway places to embed himself among the poorest of the earth.  He sought Jesus in others and found Jesus to no small extent in himself.

Monday, December 2, 2019

Monday of the First Week of Advent

(Isaiah 4:2-6; Matthew 8:5-11)

Advent periscopes the coming of the Lord.  We stand in expectation throughout the year.  But in Advent we keep our eyes wide open so that we might glimpse him moving toward us.  These days become joyful because we know that the long wait is almost over. Today’s gospel relates how one man did not need the Lord to come to his house.  He trusted Jesus’ word that things will turn out all right.

The man who trusted is not a Jew with reason to believe in the prophet Jesus.  He is a Roman army officer with a good heart.  He cares enough about his servant, who is probably Jewish, that he comes looking for Jesus. He recognizes Jesus’ authority which must radiate as prominently as the beauty of a professional model. No doubt, as well, he has been informed of Jesus’ reputation as a healer.   In any case the officer does not tie up the Lord.  He only states that just as his subordinates submit to his authority so will spiritual forces submit to Jesus’.

It is time for us to renew our hope in Jesus’ authority.  He is the Lord of heaven and earth.  We only have to seek his assistance.  We can trust that he will take note of our good will and help us.

Friday, November 29, 2019

Friday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

(Daniel 7: 2-14; Luke21:29-33)

Apocalyptic literature shows God coming to the rescue when things seem most dire.  For many today such writing seems more cartoonish than the stuff of good drama. Yet it engages people’s consciousness when they are threatened by a calamity.  Apocalyptic writers offer hope to those who have experienced a long, hard struggle. 

The only example of a completely apocalyptic work in the New Testament is the Book of Revelation.  There faithful Christians are assured victory over their Roman persecutors.  In the Old Testament the Book of the Prophet Daniel is the prime example of the apocalyptic.  It was written in the second century before Christ the wicked Antiochus IV Epiphanes was oppressing Israel. The book foresees an eventual reversal of lots.  Today’s grotesque passage is apparently an alternative account of the reading from Daniel heard at mass on Tuesday.  The four beasts represent the succession of empires leading to the everlasting reign of God.  The passage foresees God eventually triumphing over the successive reigns of terror. 

Some understand apocalyptic literature as a literal description of the future.  It is better for us to spiritualize its meaning. We will not face fiercely shaped beasts in the future.  But we will struggle against evil everyday of our lives.  Evil takes the form of illegitimate desire for pleasure, possessions, or power.  As God comes to the rescue in apocalyptic literature, we beg His help in our struggles. 

Thursday, November 28, 2019

Thanksgiving Day

(Sirach 50:22-24; I Corinthians 1:3-9; Luke 17:11-19)

A mother was saying how her daughter was celebrating Thanksgiving in Japan.  Away from home for the first time, the daughter had received recipes and other ideas for a Thanksgiving feast.  Most Americans abroad try to come together for the holiday.  It seems that they are drawn by something more than the custom of eating turkey with cranberries and sweet potatoes.  They appear to instinctively feel the need to give thanks.

Humans are built to depend on one another.  We will be able to get along without a particular person, but we always need others to grow, even to survive.  Someone has to provide food for a child.  Everyone needs teachers and doctors.   There cannot be industry without workers.  Although people are paid for their services, we still are grateful to them for work done well.  We also give thanks for the source of all the benefits we enjoy.  We recognize that the same Creator of the earth also moves human hearts to assist others.

Today’s first reading expresses the spirit of Thanksgiving Day.  It calls on everyone to give thanks to God, the source of all goodness.  It further recognizes that our dependence upon God never ceases.  We must pray to God not only for the basic needs of life but also for the peace that makes life worth living.